The Bloody Baron
by Lady Whight
Summary: ::!COMPLETE!:: Liz, a muggle, breaks through the blocks surrounding Hogwarts by chance. The Baron helps her to escape the Professors and avoid the customary 'obliviate'. But why? What does he hope to achieve?
1. Liz

Heya! My first fanfic! I always thought that the bloody baron deserved some more attention, so here I am, writing his story. If I make any mistakes whatsoever, just tell me, I'm all for advice.  
  
Disclaimer: Only Liz and the plot belong to me.  
  
And now, please turn your attention to:  
  
  
  
The Bloody Baron  
  
  
  
She ran without looking back. Why hadn't she seen the bull before she'd climbed over the fence? Why had she only seen it, when she already was in the middle of the pasture? Why did it have to be the most vicious bull in the neighbourhood?  
  
Well, at least the fence was slowly getting into her reach. If she managed to climb over it, she was safe. -IF!  
  
Then she'd see the ruins up close. She had seen the ruins in the distance and decided to take a shortcut to it. Then she'd climbed the fence, to walk across the pasture. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only living being there.  
  
The pasture was the home of a bull and he'd been very angry, still WAS angry. Now he chased her towards the ruins.  
  
Suddenly thoughts about all the things she ought to do assaulted her. She ought to go to the grocers, ring up a friend, send postcards to her friends at home, pay some bills. Hesitantly, she slowed down. What was she doing here? She ought to turn and go home.  
  
A snort and the thunder of hooves brought her to her senses. Not to speak of the hot breath the bull was already blowing down her neck. Again, she quickened her pace again, conscious of a faint prickle passing through the whole of her body.  
  
Fleetingly she wondered how she could have been distracted by those thought, but then she had already reached the fence and climbed it as quickly as she could. Exhausted, she fell to the ground and gasped.  
  
Not far from her, a lake had appeared and where, some moments before, a ruin had stood, was now a full-fledged castle. And not some ordinary castle, but a a beautiful castle right out of a fairy tale, with lots of turrets and towers.  
  
Running towards her was a group of very queer people. One of them very small, another one all in black and a third with a pointed hat, all of them wearing flowing robes and waving sticks over their heads. Sparks showered from the sticks and suddenly all four of the sticks were pointed at her.  
  
Instinctively, she ducked. 'What was that for?' She wondered. Then she distinctly heard something buzz passed her left ear and over her head, before something struck her chest. At once she lost consciousness.  
  
***  
  
She awoke feeling as if a hammer was pounding inside her head and swarms of ants were milling all over her body. She didn't open her eyes at once, not sure if she wanted to know where she was. She remembered at once, how she'd been chased by the bull, how a castle had appeared out of thin air and how she'd been struck by something coming out of a stick.  
  
'It looked as if they were casting some sort of spell, but it must have been some sort of new weapon.' She thought. The rustling of fabrics warned her that she wasn't alone and so she acted the deep sleeper.  
  
"How is she, Poppy?" The voice of an old man asked. "No major injuries, I hope?"  
  
The quetion was answered by brisk woman's voice.  
  
"Just a 'supefy', Headmaster, although I wonder what would have been, if all three of the cast spells had reached their target. She'll come to very soon."  
  
Headmaster? Spells? She'd crumpled down before a castle, not a school. She'd been struck unconscious by a spell? Those -sticks WERE Wands! It was all Liz could do to stay still and not move on the bed she was lying on. The woman called Poppy was still talking:  
  
"As soon as she regains consciousness, I'll check if she is fit to sustain an 'obliviate', which I don't doubt. How could she break through all those strong blocks? Do you have an idea, Headmaster?"  
  
Liz thought she could hear a streak of amusement in the old man's voice as he replied.  
  
"The clear and present fear of death through a raging bull, I presume. We really should have the animal removed, so it doesn't chase any more muggles onto Hogwarts' grounds."  
  
Now Liz definitely began to suffer from information-overload. The place was called Hogwarts. -The place she'd stayed in had no such name, nor did there exist any place in Great Britain with that name to her knowledge.  
  
Liz had broken through strong blocks? -She'd noticed nothing of the sort. Were blocks spells of some sort? She hoped not, that would be too scary. They wanted to keep 'muggles' out? -What were muggles? She was one, so much she understood, but why, and why did the people here want to keep 'muggles' out?  
  
Last but not least, there was this 'obliviate'-thing. She'd have to 'sustain' it. What did that mean? She wasn't keen on finding out, really. She best kept quiet for another while and try to digest all the information she'd got in the last few minutes. She just hoped that the 'Headmaster' and 'Poppy' (what a queer name!) would soon leave.  
  
They might still discover that she was not unconscious, but eavesdropping. That would be very inconvenient.  
  
They hadn't finished talking yet, though.  
  
"I see, but let us discuss outside. The girl needs rest." 'Poppy said firmly.  
  
The man left, chuckling. 'Poppy' followed only a moment later, after drawing curtains, or so the noises she made suggested.  
  
Very, very cautiously, Liz opened her eyes. The bed she lay in was surrounded by curtains. She still had her clothes on (thanks for that!) and her shoes stood on the floor beside the bed. Looking up, she discovered that she lay in a four-poster bed. This gave her an idea.  
  
***  
  
I know, it's slightly cliffy, please don't kill me for it!  
  
So, do you want more? Is it worth reading? -Tell me! 


	2. The Baron

Here's the second part already, if you clicked yourself on this page, that's already a good sign, isn't it? Well, I think I managed to make less mistakes in this chapter. I'll correct the first as soon as I find the time.  
  
Reviewers: Thanks for the encouragement!  
  
Enjoy the second part of 'The Bloody Baron':  
  
  
  
***  
  
Liz watched the woman walk across the room to her bed. The woman drew back the curtains and gasped in alarm. She turned on her heels and disappeared through the door.  
  
Pressed to the wooden cover of the four-poster, Liz grinned as she heard the woman call someone and order him to "fetch the Headmaster, double- quick! Tell him, she's gone!". Liz now knew, who the woman was. Her brisk voice proved her to be 'Poppy'.  
  
The Headmaster was at the infirmary in no time. At his heels rushed a strict looking woman with glasses and a man dressed all in black with long black hair. Two of the people who'd thrown spells at Liz earlier that day.  
  
Now she began to believe what she saw. This wasn't just some hallucination. The people actually behaved like any other people she knew, once you began to ignore the funny robes and sticks (which were wands).  
  
Of course they'd all come crowding in to see what had happened. Of course they wanted to see why their Headmaster got an urgent message. Anyone only half-human would do exactly that.  
  
"What happened?" The strict looking woman asked with a stern voice, scanning the room.  
  
"I don't know. I left the room with Professor Dumbledore" (Here Liz shook her head disbelievingly: who invented the names of those people, anyway, they were too queer to last!) "and came back after I'd checked some of my potion supplies. When I looked inside the bed, she'd disappeared."  
  
"She's a muggle. She can't have disappeared. She wouldn't even know what an invisibility cloak is." The man in black said jeeringly.  
  
Liz grinned widely. She maybe was a 'muggle', whatever that meant, but she wasn't stupid. Well, stupid enough to step onto a field occupied by a very aggressive bull, but not so stupid as to let some strange and VERY weird people treat her with an 'obliviate' (pointless to say, that she didn't even know, what an 'obliviate' was.).  
  
Just then, something unpleasantly cold touched her back. It moved with uncanny speed to her right, so that she just barely could sense it hovering there. She looked hard, but saw nothing at first. Then, to her utmost horror, something began to form in the air before her.  
  
She was so horrified, she couldn't make a sound or move, she was utterly paralysed. Appearing in front of her was a ghost, and no pleasant looking one at that. Its face was gaunt and unmoving, its eyes cold and impassive, without any compassion in them.  
  
As its contours got clearer, Liz even spotted some splotches of silver on its clothes, which could have been from water -or blood. It was the ghost of a man. She returned his blank and staring gaze with a terror-stricken expression.  
  
So they stared at each other, the ghost and the muggle girl, till he gave her a curt nod in greeting. She was so surprised, that she returned the nod reflexively.  
  
The ghost then slid on, down through the canopy, and was noticed by the people beneath.  
  
"Good afternoon, Baron." Dumbledore greeted him. "Have You by any chance seen a girl in muggle clothes hiding somewhere in the castle?"  
  
Liz held her breath. Would the ghost Baron reveal her hiding place? A short, raspy sound could be heard, like a nail scratching on wood. The professors sighed dejectedly.  
  
If she wouldn't have had to be as quiet as a mouse to hide successfully, Liz would have whooped in joy. The Baron hadn't told them where she was! Dumbledore addressed the other adults:  
  
"Minerva, Severus, Poppy, we have to find her at once. Please remember to keep this incident as quiet as possible. There's no knowing what the ministry will do to her if it finds out. Minerva, alert the other professors, Severus, begin your search in the dungeons. Poppy and I will check the ground floor."  
  
There was a lot of rustling, as the men and women moved in their robes, and then all was silent. A peep over the rim of the canopy informed Liz that the coast was clear and she climbed down to the floor.  
  
***  
  
She was just about to open the door, when an ice cube touched her shoulder. With a low exclamation, she twirled around, ready for anything. -Even the gaunt and impassive face of the Baron.  
  
At least she already 'knew' him. He wasn't yet another NEW feature of this endless freak show. Again he nodded curtly, as if they hadn't seen each other for more than a few minutes.  
  
To humour him, she did the same, still rather uneasy in his presence. She wasn't exactly used to ghosts, and the Baron had a very forbidding air about him. His gaze held no human sentiments she could see and she began to suspect that the spots on his clothes were blood. Not something trivial like water.  
  
He had no wounds indicating that the blood was his. It was much more likely that the blood came from others and that that was the reason why he was a ghost. There had to be some deed of his past that he had to redeem, and which was the reason why he couldn't rest in peace.  
  
She watched the Baron stick his head through the solid door of the infirmary, making her stomach feel somewhat squeamish. He pulled his head back, to look at her while he waved her through. Apparently, there was no one on the other side.  
  
He slid through the door, while Liz first had to open it and then he went straight for a wall in the next room, which was full of shelves. The Baron pointed to one of the boxes labelled 'chocolate' standing on a shelf.  
  
"Good man," murmured Liz, "Knows what a person needs."  
  
She actually was rather astonished that he'd thought of provisions. Ghosts weren't supposed to bother about eating. It was all the more considerate of the Baron to show her where she could get something to eat.  
  
Quickly, there was the possibility that someone came into the room any second, she took down the box and lifted the lid. At least ten bars of chocolate lay inside. Liz took one out and wanted to put the lid back, but was stopped by a ghastly whisper coming from the Baron.  
  
"Take more!" His voice was raspy and toneless.  
  
She didn't object. Somehow the prospect of having a discussion with the Baron didn't appeal to her. She took out four more bars and lifted a questioning eyebrow at him. He nodded, satisfied.  
  
So she put the box back, exactly at the same place where she'd taken it from and stuffed the chocolate bars in her pockets. The Baron was already checking if it was safe for her to open another door.  
  
He waved her on, so the coast was clear. She opened the door silently and followed him inside a corridor.  
  
*** 


	3. Peeves

Here I am again! I really don't know how many chapters this story will have. I guess I'll finally come to a total of eight. But don't count on it!  
  
But now: Please read Part Three of The Bloody Baron!  
  
***  
  
Liz followed the Baron closely, so she always felt the coldness radiating from him. Sometimes, she thought she saw a movement at the corner of her eyes, but when she turned to look, there was nothing.  
  
Once, she thought she saw one of the people on a family portrait yawn, but dismissed the observation. It just wasn't possible that she'd seen something like that.  
  
She soon found out, however, that the person HAD yawned, and that all the other portraits moved too. Her breath quickened, as did her step. She wanted to get away from the stares of the portraits.  
  
"Baron!" She called softly, so as to be heard only by him. He turned to face her, but went on gliding along the corridor.  
  
"They're moving, aren't they? Is that normal?" She at least needed the confirmation that she wasn't the only one seeing things, even if her only reference was a ghost.  
  
All the Baron did was nod curtly, then he turned away from her again and led the way swiftly, never slowing his pace. Liz followed him, still shuddering. If those things could move, it was absolutely possible that they could think too, and that bothered her somehow.  
  
After a while they reached a section of the wall which was far from all portraits and only dimly lighted. The Baron showed Liz a lever, which opened a door to a small chamber.  
  
With a wave of his hand, the Baron lighted a fire in the fire place. Before Liz could stop him, he vanished and left her to herself.  
  
After her long sleep in the infirmary, Liz wasn't about to go to sleep here. Instead, she began to explore the chamber the Baron had showed her.  
  
It was held all in green and silver. The thick carpet, the furniture and the tapestry were in that colour. The middle of the mantelpiece was decorated with a coat-of-arms, Liz had never seen before. A lion, a serpent, a badger and a raven were grouped around the letter 'H'.  
  
Underneath the device stood the motto: "Draco dormant numquam titllandus." that was latin, and Liz haltingly translated it into: "Never disturb a sleeping dragon."  
  
A door led into a bathroom, with rather old, but clean towels laying ready, each of them with an embroidered version of the device on it. In a wardrobe were two black robes and one green and silver robe, also with the device embroidered onto them.  
  
Liz decided that the coat-of-arms belonged to the owners of the castle. That was the most logical explanation. She made an on-the-spot decision to bath and then put on one of the robes.  
  
No sooner had she put on one of the black robes and exited the bathroom, that she was again confronted by a cold presence.  
  
"What's up?" She asked in a mild tone.  
  
The cold presence twirled around her and at the same time a high-pitched wail assaulted her ears.  
  
This couldn't be the Baron! His methods were far more subtle than that, Liz was sure.  
  
"Baron!" She called. "Baron!"  
  
the laughter ended suddenly.  
  
"The muggle girl calls for the Baron's help, she is insane!" A high-pitched voice cackled. "He will scare you, tear you to pieces and eat you for lunch, girly girl, silly girl, silly gilry girl!"  
  
A waft of cold suddenly covered Liz and the cackling ghost suddenly fell very silent. In the stillness, Liz heard a cold, raspy voice whisper, that sent shivers down her spine.  
  
At the same time, the Baron took shape before her. The voice was his, yet it scared her immensely. No conscience, no warm feeling was in it, just coldness and terror. Yet, .yet, he was saving her again. Sending away the ghost that had disturbed her.  
  
"Thank you, Baron." She whispered, letting herself fall into an armchair. "He was quite disturbing."  
  
The Baron hovered in front of her and seemed to assent.  
  
"Peeves." He breathed, contempt clearly showing through. He only spoke in whispers, his voice toneless and hollow. "Peeves, the Poltergeist."  
  
"Are there more of his kind in this place?"  
  
"Noooo." Again the raspy, breathy voice.  
  
"Are there other ghosts like you?"  
  
"There are others."  
  
Are they like you?" Liz insisted.  
  
"Noooo." Was that amusement she detected in the Baron's voice? He definitely looked somewhat haughty.  
  
She opened her mouth to go on asking question, but he vanished quit suddenly before she could say another word. Obviously, he'd had enough of her curiosity.  
  
Liz yawned. The bath had made her drowsy. She climbed out of the armchair and worked her way over to the four-poster. Soon later, her eyes closed to a dreamless sleep. 


	4. Hogwarts Hidden History

Writer's block galore! Sorry to all who've waited so long! finally I've uploaded chapter 4!!!!!!!  
  
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4. Hogwarts Hidden History  
  
Something cold penetrated the many layers of her blankets and awakened her from her sleep. Yawning, she sat up to face the Baron who'd come to visit her again.  
  
He hovered at the side of her bed and when he was sure that she had turned her attention to him, he pointed to her robe.  
  
"What's up?" Liz asked, puzzled. "Why must I get up?"  
  
"You shall see." Now he definitely sounded like a hoarse Darth Vader.  
  
"And if I don't get up?" Liz asked defiantly, too tired to be polite and irritated by his behaviour.  
  
He returned her gaze with cold menace.  
  
"Move." Was all he rasped.  
  
Sufficiently terrified, Liz did as she was told, glad that he turned his back to her while she dressed.  
  
"Where to?" She asked him.  
  
The Baron pointed to the door leading to the corridor.  
  
"Look out for prowlers." He ordered, giving the example by checking the corridor before letting her open the door.  
  
Quietly, they moved along the corridors, halls and stairs of the castle, the ghost looking out in front, the girl making sure they weren't followed. Once they encountered a muttering man with his cat.  
  
At once, the Baron showed her a hiding place and there she waited till the two had passed. The ghost just stared at the two. Exhibiting a hate for the two, as Liz had never seen before.  
  
It was no astonishment, that both the cat and the man slunk in a wide arc round the Baron and greeted him reverently.  
  
The Baron didn't even return the greeting, but hovered between the man and Liz till the two had gone round a corner further down in the corridor. Not much later, they reached the library.  
  
"Restricted Section." The Baron whispered hollowly, pointing to the back.  
  
"And that's where we're going, right?" Liz whispered back.  
  
Deigning to answer, the Baron nodded.  
  
Before Liz was allowed to enter the Restricted Section, however, the Baron neede to send a bunch of three students from it. Silently, he glided forward, till he was right behind them.  
  
"Potter!" He hissed menacingly in his raspy voice, shocking the three students so they jumped considerably.  
  
The girl nearly let fall the book she was holding, while the boys turned, reaching for sticks, -their wands- Liz corrected herself, and blanched when they recognised the Baron.  
  
"Go-good evening, Sir." The boy called "Potter" stuttered.  
  
The Baron didn't bother to reply. Instead, he stared the three students down, before saying one, simple word:  
  
"Leave."  
  
All three muttered things like, "Of course, Sir", "Thank you, Sir" and "Good evening, Sir" and left in a helter-skelter of hands and feet.  
  
As soon as they'd gone, Liz joined the Baron. His display had (quite) done the job of impressing her, and she was more cautious of him after seeing him treat the three students so menacingly.  
  
On top of all, he seemed to have enjoyed the encounter. Looking at him, Liz could have sworn that she saw something like amusement on his features, as he saw the students flee from him.  
  
"If you ever do that to me," Liz told him, "I'll die and turn into a ghost like you."  
  
He stared blankly at her, till she started to fidget, wondering if she had insulted him.  
  
"Beware!" He warned her, not defining what exactly she should be wary of. Then he pointed to a shelf of the library. Liz stepped over and read the title of one of the books.  
  
"Hogwarts Hidden History" She repeated the title in a quiet voice. "Shall I take it back to the chamber?"  
  
The Baron nodded, then added: "Not only this book."  
  
So Liz took out the books one by one, reading there titles in a whisper.  
  
"Horrible Histories of Hogwarts, Hogwarts Howling Host, The Bloody Baron's Book, Beware of the Bloody Baron, Headless Nick's Needless Tricks."  
  
Here the Baron stopped her. "Enough."  
  
Liz nodded and hurriedly rearranged the books on the shelf, so that it wasn't so obvious that five of them were missing. Then she followed the Baron back into the chamber. 


	5. The Riddle

As soon as they were back in the chamber, the Bloody Baron hovered so that his face was before hers. Liz thought for a fleeting moment that worry flickered in his eyes, but dismissed that idea at once, the Baron never was worried! He pointed to the books in her hands.  
  
"Read!" He ordered.  
  
With a flick of his hand, he produced a lantern bright enough to read by and then began to fade away again. Jumping up, Liz stopped him.  
  
Wait! Please tell me your name; I'd like to hear it from you, rather than from a book!"  
  
He was nearly invisible already, but he could still speak. "Baron Anguinus of Adderford." She heard his bodiless voice say, and then she was alone.  
  
She plopped into one of the armchairs standing in front of the fireplace and opened "Hogwart's Howling Host". The book contained an article telling about every ghost living in Hogwarts, including the "Bloody Baron Anguinus of Adderford", as they called him.  
  
The Baron was said to be descendant of a certain Salazar Slytherin, according to the book, a terrible thing. The Baron furthermore was said to have followed in his ancestors footsteps and had spilled much blood in the progress.  
  
"Well, they're right about this ancestor-thing, if what's written here is true." Liz muttered to herself, shuddering at the thought of the Baron being a murderer. The whole story fascinated her, nevertheless, so she went on reading.  
  
The Baron was poisoned during a banquet at Hogwarts by one of the people he trusted most and before he had never even shown a tinge of remorse for his deeds and now he had to stay between the worlds forever, haunting Hogwarts for all eternity.  
  
But no, not quite: In small print, a footnote was added: 'There are people who believe that the Baron still has a chance for redemption.' It said. 'They allude to a riddle that appeared on his grave at the moment his mortal body was buried.'  
  
Now Liz was curious. A riddle? She had to find out what the riddle was! Maybe she could hellp the Baron, he'd helped her too, hadn't he? She didn't find the riddle in "Hogwart's Hidden History", however, but another text that told of the Baron's evil doings.  
  
She found out, that the Baron had smuggled muggles into his home, tortured them and killed them. She shuddered again, she was doing this more and more often, since she was here in Hogwarts, and well she might. The Baron had been a very evil man, and it was difficult to imagine that he was different as a ghost.  
  
Did he want to torture one more muggle? Why did he show her these books, then? Was he so sure that she wouldn't escape him? Or did he want something else from her? To find out more about the Baron and maybe find out what his motives were, Liz pulled out "Horrible Histories of Hogwarts".  
  
Here the Baron's torturing was described with a lot of detail, the writer, called Muriel Marcquart, seemed to relish in the stories of pain and blood. Liz soon put the book away, because it made her sick, and turned to "The Bloody Baron's Book".  
  
Here she found the riddle:  
  
"The breaker-in and powerless No Wizard, and all clueless, One, whom this soul, when still alive, Would have destroyed and did despise, Will find the way of peril and fear, It's door is secret, guarded by four. The keys to deliverance are kindness and courage, That will bring the powerless through this passage."  
  
Now Liz understood. The Baron had seen her and realised at once that she was a muggle. Remembering the riddle, he had grabbed the chance to earn her trust and helped her hide from the professors. So, were his friendly gestures only show, or was he just manipulating her into doing what he wanted her to do? She had a grim hunch, that it was the latter. With a frown, she took "Beware of the Bloody Baron" and scanned the pages.  
  
Although the title of this book was the most prejudiced, it gave the most objective information. It just gave a biography of the Baron and presented the reader with all the theories concerning the riddle. 'The authors of this book agree with the widespread opinion that a muggle must free the Baron. Yet, as everyone knows, this is absolutely impossible, as no muggle can get into Hogwarts, the Baron's haunt.' Those were the last words of the book.  
  
Liz sighed and leant back into her chair. After a short break and half a bar of chocolate, she called the Baron. She had some questions she wanted to ask him. He appeared in no time and she pointed to the riddle in "The Bloody Baron's Book".  
  
"Was this what made you show me this book?"  
  
He nodded stiffly.  
  
"And what must I do now? If I wanted to free you, how would I go at it?"  
  
"You must find the way." He answered hoarsely.  
  
"How?"  
  
"The door is secret, guarded by four."  
  
Liz frowned. Why did he repeat the words in the riddle? "Do I have to solve the riddle without your help?"  
  
He nodded once again.  
  
"Okay, the first lines are:  
  
"The breaker-in and powerless No Wizard, and all clueless, One, whom this soul, when still alive, Would have destroyed and did despise,"  
  
I broke in, I'm no wizard, so I'm powerless, right? You tortured and killed muggles, I'm a muggle, so it must be me, right?"  
  
A nod was all she got.  
  
"Now to the next two lines:  
  
"Will find the way of peril and fear, It's door is secret, guarded by four."  
  
Is it a secret passage? Guarded by four? Four what? Where? and anyway, peril and fear? Do I want that?" Liz breathed out loudly. "Whew! I'm in a real fix!"  
  
Her eyes fell on the mantelpiece where the coat-of-arms with of the Raven, the Badger, the Snake and the Lion was. Her eyebrows flew up, disappearing beneath her hair. "Hey! There's a reason you brought me into this chamber, isn't' there? They're the four and you wanted me to see them!"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Now, before I even think of helping you, I want you to tell me about yourself. Especially about your life as a real person."  
  
A ripple went through the Baron's ghostly form. His eyes bored into her. ""You will regret it." Was all he said, then he waved his hand and a kind of hologram appeared before them, projecting his memories. He didn't talk, but let the images speak for themselves.  
  
Liz saw him order his men to drag people, Men, women and children of all shapes and sizes, to torturing machines and saw him torture them in various ways, she saw him put spells on them that sent them screaming in agony. Sometimes he left them lying in a dungeon to scream themselves to death, on other times he stayed with them and watched them die, slowly and full of pain.  
  
She saw him, saw him smile in pleasure, as he watched his victims die, each and every one of them cruelly mutilated, some had no faces anymore, just one, great wound, or he cut away the limbs the people, or jus tbroke them and left them to grow together in unnatural angles.  
  
He was very imaginative. For every victim he chose another killing method. And he enjoyed it. Rapture was in his eyes and in his smile, as he watched the people writhe and die.  
  
Shocked, Liz looked away. The ghost that had once been Anguinus of Adderford, watched its past self grimly. It looked at the projected pictures, till the last had gone by. Then its hollow voice coloured the silence. "I am getting punished, but I cannot find peace. A lost soul cannot find the way, it must be lead by another."  
  
Liz turned away. This was horrible. All those evil things he had done and his cruelty and made her sick, but still she felt sorry for him. It must be horrible to be banned to neither live completely nor die entirely and to be dependent on someone else to get him out of this state.  
  
The curse left him no real chance to find a helper, either, him being in Hogwarts, where no muggles were supposed to turn up. How many years had he wited here till she had turned up? She must be the first muggle who had appeared here since he had died and it would be ages till another came here.  
  
His salvation lay in her hands, but who was she to decide over another soul's fate? The thought was terrifying, unsettling. She glanced at the Baron again, he was still staring at the place where his memories had been projected. 'Oh, come on, Liz!' She thought. "You always said In dubito pro reo, If in doubt, decide for the accused, and this is definetely a situation where this proverb fits.'  
  
"What happens if I help you?" She asked. "Will you just disappear or what?"  
  
He shook his head. "No. I will be allowed to redeem my myself and as soon as my good deeds outweigh my bad, I will be allowed to pass into the next world." He rasped.  
  
"I'll help you." Liz blurted out. "And then you'll help me get out of here without being noticed."  
  
"I will." the Baron promised.  
  
"Good. What do I do now?"  
  
He pointed to the fireplace. "Do what the riddle tells you to do, I may not tell you more."  
  
Liz looked at him, wanting reassurance, she got none.  
  
"It will be terrible. I am sorry." He whispered tonelessly, his ghost eyes glinting, then he was gone. 


	6. Trust

6) Trust  
  
.  
  
Now even less confident than the minute before, Liz approached the fireplace tentatively and stared at the coat-of-arms. What should she do now? Touch it? Well, she had to try. Slowly, slowly, she stretched out her hand and touched the emblem with two fingers.  
  
At once the fireplace transformed into a huge doorway. Two massive, black doors opened in front of her, revealing what was behind them. Ugly, brown- red flames broiled and flared, blocking a narrow stone passage.  
  
Liz' breath caught in her throat and she hesitated. The moment stretched till it wsa eternity and still she did nothing. "The keys to deliverance are kindness and courage, that will bring the powerless through this passage." She whispered. "Let's see if that's true!"  
  
With that she flung herself forward and into the flames. She hoped that they were only some sort of barrier and that she'd get to other side quickly. Something quite different happened:  
  
Something wrenched her away and up, swinging and twirling her through lightless space till she passed out  
  
When she came to, she was sitting on an armchair. It was the only comfortable piece of furniture in the gloomy and chilled room. On the stone walls around her hung weapons and torturing instruments. On the wall opposite stood a chair with shackles that were positioned to hold the ankles and wrists of the one sitting on it. Its seat and back were covered with sharp spikes that were about two inches long.  
  
Beside the chair was another instrument. A hook hung down from a solid wooden frame. A prisoners' hands could be tied behind his back and to the hook. Then the hook was pulled upwards slowly till the prisoner hung completely on his hands, his arms twisted upwards behind his back.  
  
A little to the right stood a massive table with shackles to hold down the prisoner who was to be tortured. Beside it stood another, smaller table, covered with little knives, scissors, tongs, pins, saws and files. Horrified, Liz wanted to turn away. Just then, somebody pounded onto the door to the room loudly.  
  
Without deciding to do so, Liz said, "Come in!" In a voice that was not hers. It sounded more like. like the BLODDY BARON himself! She wanted to look down and examine what she looked like, but that was impossible.  
  
Instead, she watched without blinking as two guards with cold eyes and ruthless mouths dragged a spent looking man into the room.  
  
"On the table!" Liz ordered in a cruel voice, or didn't, for the voice was that of the Bloody Baron and the decision was his, too. all she could do was watch, trapped inside his body, she couldn't even shut her eyes, she had to watch.  
  
She did not know how long she was in the room. Time passed so slowly, it turned into eternity. Maybe it sometimes even stood still, while the Baron's victims uttered blood-curdling screams and pleaded for mercy.  
  
After the first victim had died, the guards pulled in the next. This one they seated on the spiked chair. Liz watched, nausea washing over her, as he was strapped more and more tightly onto the chair, till blood oozed out of the holes in his body and dripped to the stone floor.  
  
And yet she laughed the Bloody Baron's dry and gleeful laugh. Oh, how she hated him, then! It had been bad enough to see his memories, but to be here, in his body, and feel the blood on her hands and how it felt as he cut at one of his victim's fingers.  
  
There was no way she could escape and through the Bloody Baron she turned into a murderer. She killed twelve people while they were in the stone room and she smiled at each death. During that time, she nearly turned crazy. Desperation gripped her in a vice-like grip. When would this end? Could she ever wash al this blood off her hands?  
  
In her heart, she screamed, while he tortured his prisoners, the Bloody Baron tortured her too, twelve times over, and she couldn't die. Finally, it was over. With a satisfied smirk, Liz/the Bloody Baron kicked the last corpse that lay on the floor before him.  
  
"Burn it!" Was all he ordered, then he left the room and again Liz was wrenched away into nothingness.  
  
She screamed. She cried, she rubbed at her clean hands, trying to wash off the guilt. Why hadn't she stopped the killing? She buried her face in her hands in despair and sobbed convulsively.  
  
When she was dumped onto a stone floor, she crumpled over, flooding the ground under her with tears. She didn't know how long she lay there, sobbing on the cold stone floor, with the dark covering her.  
  
There was a time when she had no tears anymore and she stood up. All around her it was pitch black and she didn't know where she was. Reaching out with her hand, she felt cold stone walls on either side of her. Slowly, sadly, she began to walk, step after tired step. What further horror awaited her?  
  
Walking down the dark and icy cold passage, she thought about the Bloody Baron again. She remembered all too clearly how much fun he had had during the torturing and killing. He didn't deserve to be helped! He was such a brute! His cruelty deserved to be punished forever!  
  
"Ha! In dubito pro reo!" She exclaimed. "There is no doubt anymore! He is a horrible man!"  
  
Then again, she remembered the sadness in his eyes while he looked the projections of his memories. It had been the only real emotion she had seen in his face during her time with him and she was sure it was genuine.  
  
"Maybe he deserves a chance, in spite of all." She murmured. "And anyway, I'm just as cruel as him if I don't save his soul and give him a chance of redemption. It's not lie I just give him a free and easy ticket to salvation, he still has to do enough good deeds to make up for his bad, and I bet THAT'll take ages!"  
  
Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the passage before her. She stumbled forwards, eager to reach the end of this dark tunnel, where the cold dug into her. By and by, it got warmer and she stopped shivering. She reached the opening and all at once, letters appeared in the air before her.  
  
"You are willing, that is why you are here, But consider once more, what awaits you and fear: In the body of a victim you'll experience pain, You will be cruelly hurt again and again. So think it over, don't rush your step, For once you are there, pain you must accept."  
  
Liz took a deep breath. The warning was clear. Now she would be tortured, trapped in the body of one of the Baron's victims. She shuddered and gulped. Shall I, shan't I? She chanted in her head. "Well, I've come so far, I won't give up now!" She finally decided. "Didn't I just say that the Baron deserved a chance?"  
  
Later, Liz had nightmares reminding her of those few hours she was tortured expertedly by both the Baron and his men. The wounds they inflicted on her were painful beyond description, but never deadly. Sometimes she didn't even bleed when they stuck a pin into her, but she never forgot the pain.  
  
She passed out, the last thing she saw the glinting eyes of the Baron, who watched her draw her last breath with a contented smile. Again, anger and hate flared up in her, but she shook them off. He had not done it to her, he had done it in his past life. He would do better now, and try to make up for his sins.  
  
She repeated this mantra in her head while she was swept away from the place in a mind warbling motion. This time, she was faced by the ghost of the Bloody Baron. He hovered before her uncertainly. Curious, she looked him over.  
  
"What happens now?"  
  
He just smirked and waved his hand. Peeves appeared.  
  
"Hey! What are you doing!" Liz shouted, as she saw him fade.  
  
"You have done what I wanted you to do, now Peeves may have you."  
  
"I don't think so!" Liz shouted angrily. "I helped you, now you help me! You promised to help me out of here, you won't leave me here with PEEVES!"  
  
She spoke in anger, but also with confidence. She was in the right. All at once, a white light flared before her and she heard a booming laugh.  
  
"The muggle girl thinks you will keep your promise, Baron! I wonder why she trusts you so much, but it doesn't matter. My curse is broken and I don't even care."  
  
It was then that Liz realised how lucky she was. Had she worded her protest only slightly differently, she would have failed, but she hadn't. This person who had cursed the Baron had interpreted her angry words as trust and so the curse was broken. Well, she really HAD trusted the Baron to keep his promise, why, she didn't know.  
  
With a thump, she landed on the floor of the chamber where her adventure had started. In front of her wavered the silvery form of the Bloody Baron, a small, thin smile on his face.  
  
"You succeeded." Was all he said.  
  
Liz nodded.  
  
"I thank you." Pompously, the Baron bowed before her.  
  
Liz grinned cheekily. "It was my pleasure." She answered, bowing with great flourish. "If you get me out of here, will I be able to come back once in a while and see how you're getting along?"  
  
The Baron nodded. "I will cast a spell on you that nullifies the Hogwarts blocks."  
  
"Is that so easy?"  
  
The Baron looked definitely smug. "Not if you helped raise them."  
  
"Then go on!" Liz urged. "I bet my family's very anxious, I've been away much too long."  
  
He nodded. "Good Bye!" He whispered, and waved his hand twice in front of her.  
  
At the second wave, the world around Liz began to swirl. She had just enough time to call out "Good Bye!" to him, then she was away, standing on the meadow facing Hogwarts.  
  
A grunt behind her made her start. Fearfully, realisation dawning slowly in her mind, she turned. The bull faced her, scraping the ground with one of his front hooves.  
  
"Darn!" Liz cried and ran. This time to one of the fences facing away from Hogwarts and she vaulted it just in time, for only seconds after she'd jumped over it, the bull crashed head first into one of the planks.  
  
Liz stuck out her tongue at him. "You have to be faster than that to catch me!" She told the bull triumphantly, and strolled off, back to the where she was sure her family waited for her. 


End file.
